shouted to Ralph.

The latter raised up from his crouching position, with his revolver now
leveled full in the faces of the two frenzied men. Before Ralph had
reached the upper step both men in the hold fired, fortunately, without
doing any damage.

The moment Ralph gained the deck the captain jumped out of the hatch and
slammed it down.

"Now, quickly, boys; tie this rope to the railing close to the periscope
tube, and arm yourself with the life preservers; there, you will find
them under that couch," said the captain, as he quickly threw back the
cover from the couch and handed out four preservers.

"Why do you want four?" asked Ralph, as he hastily buckled one of them
around himself.

"To attach to the end of the line that you have just fastened to the
rail," replied the captain.

The captain sprang out through the open door, and attached one of the
life belts to the end of the line. The boys now noticed the coil of
rope, which must have been more than a hundred feet in length.

"I wonder what that is for?" asked Alfred, as the captain disappeared.

"There," said the captain, as he again appeared at the door. "If she
goes down that preserver will tell them where to fish for her."

"Do you think there is any danger?" asked Ralph.

"I do not know; I am not taking any chances. I have my opinion, though,"
replied the captain thoughtfully.

"Do you think they are going to blow up the vessel?" asked Alfred.

"No; but I am inclined to think that they have not been able to
disconnect the automatic fuse, or, that the death of the lieutenant, if
such should be the case, has prevented them from finding the secret key,
and,----"

"That the sub-lieutenant has actually gone mad," interrupted Ralph.

The captain nodded, and continued: "Although they deserve death, still,
I am not a barbarian, and shall give them a chance for their lives,"
and, saying this, he moved through the door, and, sighting a large
steamer, gave a signal. Once, twice, three times he moved the flag from
right to left. Almost immediately there was a response and two short
whistles responded.

Before the great ship had time to stop, the forward end of the submarine
moved upward with a violent heave, followed by an explosion that seemed
to tear everything to pieces. Ralph was thrown clear of the top, and
landed fully twenty feet from the side of the hull. Alfred and the
captain seemed to be propelled to the stern of the ship and dashed into
th